La Potiniere and Friends is a wonderful cookery book. It’s not a book of fancy pictures, it’s a book of good recipes, from a time I remember well. David and Hilary Brown ran this quaint little restaurant in Gullane, East Lothian, and in it's day it was a place to go and eat great food. Service was unobtrusive, and as there was only David and Hilary running the place, standards were kept up.

I recall eating there when I worked on The Royal Scotsman train. I was taken there by my boss, Stephen Coupe. It was glorious and I had a hallelujah moment. I dined on a delicious sole mouse and butter sauce, then wild duck breast with cabbage and bacon, fondant potatoes and a wonderful sauce, a piece of brie at perfect temperature with biscuits, finishing with a lemon tart for pudding. It was flawless.

The book takes you on a journey through their food history of holidays in France with stories and anecdotes. They were quite a couple, and although I didn’t get to know them well, they always ate in places I was working. It was a great time and their book is a lovely addition to any collection. The few images there are provide a snapshot of what it was like to eat there. It’s still a great restaurant, but not run by these chaps anymore.